Another Martial Arts Question..?

Question

I am currently in Aikido, and I want a more offensive martial art to go along with it. I don't know much about Martial Arts, so could you reccomend some?

Answer 1

Why not "Jujitsu" and I don't mean Brazilian stuff either, but real honest Japanese jujitsu since it is the grand dad of Aikido even.  Sure couldn't hurt to look into right?

I'll bet that if you do some research on japanese jujitsu you'll find it to be more than what you might think it is.

Answer 2

How about a weapon such as the Jo or the walking stick?

Stick methods let you work from a distance.

You can legally carry a walking stick on the street.

For a well rounded method there is also Bartitsu. The only problem with Bartitsu is that there are no longer any schools that teach it so you will have to be self taught. (For a while anyway.)

Bartitsu is a combination of:

Boxing,

Ju-Jitsu (Japanese),

Judo,

Savate and

La Canne.

Answer 3

If you enjoy the grappling aspect of aikido but want something more combat worthy and aggressive I recommend Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The main focus of BJJ is ground fighting however, and I'm not sure how you'd feel about that.

If you enjoy the spiritual aspects of aikido, but want more offensive you could explore any number of styles of karate or kung fu. I'd recommend wing chun kung fu. It's a very effective, simple, efficient art.

Of course, you could go balls out and jump into MMA. That'll definitely improve your offense. You'll learn aspects of muay Thai, boxing, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling.

It's all preference.

Answer 4

Superman had a good idea, but since you are working with a grappling system already I would suggest moving to a striking system, unless you want to stick with grappling, in which case jujitsu is good. Wing Chun or Tsun are both great softer styles if you don't want the heavy pounding stuff, and I would recommend if you are of age to stick with the systems that emphasize the middle ground to soft. You could also find a Taiji place as an instructor who understands the combative side to that will be able to help you with the understanding and application of extremely effective techniques.

The key really isn't being on the offensive, but having the ability as you are being taught... to react. You should only be prepared and on the offensive if you cannot get away but have had the time to prepare. This doesn't include ego charged bar fights. In a real life mugging on the street you will not have time to get ready and lunge forward. You will absolutely have to react, which means being defensive.

Edit- William P has the jujitsu I was talking about. I guess I should clarify that too, the Japanese version.